This event was organised by Russell Dodds for the British
CombatSombo Association, with the British Sombo Federation dropping the English
Championships on that day the BCSA decided to go ahead with an event that would
attract new players to the sport. They done this by not being so strict on the
rules with regard to equipment a BSF event. The governing body has to run events
that abide by the rules of the International Body FIAS. The BCSA allowed Judo
Jackets to be worn and it bare feet were allowed the actual scoring rules
remained the same.

The event attracted about 120 people and proved very
popular attracting not just Sombo players but Judoka, Wrestlers, MMA and
Brazilian JJ fighters and it was interesting to see how they all matched. There
were some excellent fights especially with the seniors.

Bradley Belsey Warriors is new to Sombo but is rated in the
top 4 in GB for Judo so Sombo came relatively easy to him and he vanquished his
opposition relatively easily in the u68 kilo class but his comments after the
event were quite interesting he said he could do a lot more with Sombo.
Something I have to say is being said a great deal by Judoka

The 74-kilo final was between Ashley Costa Warriors a very
experienced Sombo and Judo player against Vinney Dragonan ex member of the
Lithuanian National squad who now fights out of Bedford. This was a shock defeat
for Ashley not only because he was defeated but also the fact he lost 12 pts. to
Nil , this has not happened to the Sittingbourne Player for years in fact since
he was a teenager. Vinney certainly looked like a world-class player

Several competitors did attend even after booking in, this
is really annoying as in the 82 kilo class only one turned up and that was Jamie
Marzetti from Warriors Grappling Academy Sittingbourne and he had to move up to
the u 90 kilo class and he still won a Bronze his fight with eventual Gold
medallist Arunas
Miscekas

a class Judo player was a real battle on several occasions
he had Jamie in an arm lock position but Jamie all though only 18 was made of
sterner stuff and did not give in and went the whole distance and only lost on
points. This did effect him in future bouts with arm battered and bruised it was
very weak, sometimes it pays to submit but Warrior players are taught to fight
to the bitter end. His bout with current British Champion Danny Roberts was a
hard one with Danny winning 4pts to 2pts good result for Jamie as well. Danny
met in Arunas the final and lost in a couple of minutes to a leg lock submission

The u 100 kilo class had Danny Carrott Warriors
Sittingbourne fighting Barry Gibson Newcastle Redstar Sombo, this was going to
be a good match Barry represent GB at last years World Sombo although unplaced
gave a good performance. Danny has represented GB on several occasions but had
lost some form last year after becoming a new father but has trained since
Christmas. Danny form has come back he managed to block all of Barry’s attacks,
playing the edge. He stole a 2pt throw of Barry but Barry still looked strong
the real break through for Danny was when he scored 4pts with a scissor throw,
followed by 2 pts. from a drop knee shoulder throw, so a good win for Danny.
Coach John Clarke has suggested Danny stay at 100 kilo build up his strength, as
the weight suits him especially Barry is a well rated player

The O100 kilo class was won by Burnley’s Big Man Ben
Whitehead, Ben a speedy agile man for his weight did not have problem winning
his weight. It was great to see a big man do some leg shoots successfully and
correctly

There were not a great women’s entry but those who did
fight put up a fine effort, I am told by some female Judoka that they do not
like the idea of wearing shorts, this is a shame because GB women’s Judo is of a
very high standard and Sombo is a far more exciting grappling experience. It was
nice see Emily Gittens competing again.

I have tried for years to get Judo kids to try Sombo but
the Judo Instructors seem to deter them for what reason I do not understand. All
the BCSA Sombo events do not allow arm locks and leg lock under 14, so the
similarities to Judo are quite a lot. The only real difference in Kit is they
have to wear shorts. The rules of Sombo are much more easier to understand and
most importantly you cannot lose out right on a hold on the ground. Junior Sombo
rules allow much more scope for a youngster to try different types of moves.

3 youngsters did catch my eye they were Lewis Clarke a
forth generation of Clarkes doing Judo and a 3rd doing Sombo, he is
quite tall for a 45 kilo player but has a wide range of techniques and won his
event easily. Young judo club member Liam Jordon is 12 but very small just
weighing 30 kilo but travel all over the country entering Judo events he won his
event in style, mum Sarah is also a Black Belt and was enthusiastic competitor
when she was a girl. Ryan Marsden is also a really unusual fighter he is trained
by Allen Clarkin who has a gym in Burnley but mainly does no Jacket styles, yet
Ryan has adapted well to Sombo. At 12 he has had trained for the BSF English
Championships which would have allowed him to use Arm and Leg locks and a couple
of times you could see him moving in for them. He will be an exciting boy to
watch for the future.

The BCSA Clubs have more tournaments in the future but they
will be local events. Russell Dodds has a Judo/Sombo event at the same venue
planned for July also he hopes to run a small event in Peterborough and in
November he will run a CombatSombo Wrestling event this styles allows strangles.
Colin Carrott has a n event planned for Folkestone, Warriors have an event
planned in Sittingbourne. In April Allen Clarkin is running GB first Combat
Sambo and SportCombatSombo instructors course. It is hoped to run more small
local events as we realise times are hard and the cost of fuel is ridiculous
high.

The following will be asked if they wish to compete in the
European Championships 17—21 May in Moscow